Hehe those Ferrari flexi floors were missed I see. Hamilton once again proves a future world champion in waiting, indeed with the banning of traction control next year I'll expect him to have the edge on Alonso since his style of driving is pretty brutal on tyre's and not suited to non TC.

Massa really did fluff it up, i guess he'll never be more then a rough diamond at this rate while Kimi did his best but must be a tad worried about McLaren now.

I'm with Gez on it being a shame Rosberg didn't finish. Hopefully Williams stuff Toyota thru the season I don't mind Trulli but Ralf sulking around on a cruise and collect job is infuriating, get a racer in there quick boys.

I agree - the flexi floors were missed. They had a bigger effect than expected. I think Ferrari will regain the edge at Bahrain but the good thing is Mclaren and Ferrari are locked in a head to head battle from early on in the season and no team or driver has streamed ahead due to the other having an unreliable or slow car (like the last two years).

Massa is very fast - but showed on the weekend why he can't launch a championship bid. Kimi did well considering his engine was restricted to lower revs than Massa. I'd give Massa the edge with that great lap in qualifying but in the race he was shown up again by Kimi.

But Hamilton was the star of the race. He was also heaviest in qualifying and his race craft is amazing for someone so young and inexperienced. Its a joy to watch this guy. Alonso should be worried. I totally agree - in 08 with TC banned and Lewis having one years experience - he will be tough to beat.

Just on Toyota - there are rumours that with Nick Heidfeld's contract up this year - he could be going to Toyota. I wonder who he would replace. Ideally he should stay at BMW - but Thiessen is keen on getting Vettell into the team.

Those Heidfeld rumours are interesting. He's not a star drive but he's an honest worker and most importantly would only cost a fraction of Ralf's salary. The driver situation isn't Toyotas main worry if I was being honest. They need to sort out their technical department and quickly because the bean counters in Toyko will only pay for failure for so long, indeed the mess Honda is in would be their only saving grace at the moment.

Bahrain this weekend, Friday practice suggests another tight battle. I feel if Alonso nudges ahead at the start Kimi will have an awful time dislodging him.

Yes Heidfeld isnt in the top echelon but he's a hard worker and brings the car home. Kubica is more impressive on speed - but I guess hasnt had a good run this season yet. Toyota tend to excel in every series they enter by throwing money at it. F1 has proven far more difficult (as you said Honda's dire situation must be comforting atleast).

It will be interesting this weekend. The key is Kimi (and Massa) need to avoid being taken by Hamilton again. The Ferrari's (especially of Kimi) were comprimised in Malaysia - so I think we have more of a fight on our hands in Bahrain which will be great to see.

So far it seems Kimi and Hamilton are setting the pace with the BMW's looking good. This Hamilton guy is surely impressive. Its a joy to watch his season develop.

Good win for Massa in Bahrain, he didn't chuck it into the hedges like a thought he would (which i'll grant you would have been hard in Bahrain since the run-off area's are 5 miles wide and there is no hedges to speak of) and kudo's to Hamilton for another brilliant drive.

We could easily have a rookie world champion at this rate, and looking at the points.

Raikkonin 22
Alonso 22
Hamilton 22
Massa 17

We are in for a hell of a title race this year. Good to see the Red Bulls running well until they broke (Newey cars seem very fragile) and how I'd love to a be a fly on the wall in the Honda debriefing room, what a disaster for them.

hehe I know how close is that championship!! Dont forget Heidfeld is on 15 points due to his three 4th places.

The pressure was on Massa and I have to say he did deliver. Hamilton again did more than was expected and is humbling Alonso who had a terrible race. Kimi also was lacklustre. Although his race pace was good enough to win - his restart was terrible (not close enough to Alonso). Heidfeld, DC and Trulli were also impressive.

I know those Red Bulls are on the up but as always - fragile. Is it any wonder the Mclaren is now a reliable car that Newey has moved on hmmm....

The bad thing Gulli - we have a 1 month wait till the next race..

finally .. an interesting season to watch

oh wow

Oh dear, you know a team is in trouble when they start bolting bizarre bits to the car.

Reminds me a bit of the 1992 Jordan when they went at the bodywork with a scissors to try and cool the Yamaha engine.

I'm actually surprised thats allowed by the regulations.

Check this out for nutty, the early days of wings were a crazy time

Wow that Honda wing is embaressing haha!!!!

Spanish GP is finally on this weekend. Ferrari and Mclaren have been working hard in this past month. Ferrari seems to have made some better gains and Kimi seems to have found the car/setup to his liking - ie. less oversteer.

Streets of Valencia to host grand prix from 2008

http://www.planetf1.com/story/0,18954,3 ... 72,00.html




Another street race and the first non Monaco one since Phoenix back in 1991 I believe. Should be interesting.

Yeah i'd rather see a street race than another Tilke track in the middle of nowhere.

Also Singapore has announced it will host a GP in 2008 - possibly a night one. Another street circuit.

Abu Dabi would also be a street circuit.

Massa on Pole, should an interesting race tomorrow

Lessons to be learned from Spain.

The Super Aguri's are faster then the works Honda's and the Williams-Toyota's are faster then the works Toyota's. Yup it seems being the second string team is the in look this summer.

Alonso is very ragged when a teammate has the edge on him. That lunge on Massa wasn't needed.

Kimi seems to infect cars with bad reliability

The Red Bulls are finally making some progress

Hamilton is the best thing to hit F1 since Schumi at Spa back in 1991.

The Catalonia race circuit is a cure for insomnia,

Yes on all counts with a slight exception on the last one. I know the Barcelona track has been a snoozefest - atleast for the best part of a decade, but I really think the problem is not the tracks but the cars (aero). There was alot of overtaking in the GP2 race this weekend. Its getting ridiculous that it is even HARDER to overtake this year in F1 than ever and the race is effectively over after qualifying and the first lap of the race.

Hamilton will win in Monaco IMO. He's had the edge on Alonso all year and I think he will be even better in Monaco.

Hamilton now leads the championship. He is just superb. Can't wait for his first win.

More bad luck for Kimi But he also hasnt had the pace of Massa. Kimi is a gun around Monaco and if he cant beat Massa there then it will be a major dent to his championship campain.

Both Kimi and Alonso seem to be struggling with setup/tyres but they better adapt soon.

Look for Webber and DC to do well in Monaco, the Red Bull has improved greatly.

Monaco =

The season so far actually (bar the arrival of Hamilton).

Hamilton on Pole = Me Happy
Ralf not getting out of Quali 1 and almost certainly about to get the sack = Me Very Happy
Kimi = Could have been worse.

Oh my god.

Jesus, that looked awful....really hope all is well with Kubica.

He passed by a meter from the steward there...damn. Not sure even if he's alive, these commentators we have here have no idea at the moment.

The commentator just said he's in stable condition.

Kubica should be ok, horrific crash though. And all these penalities are crazy.

Kubica has a broken leg. Thankfully he is otherwise ok.

Congrats to Hamilton!!!!! Hope he gets the WDC. He schooled Alonso who was terrible, mistake prone and 2nd rate in what is clearly the best car.

Im happy Kimi salvaged 5th but even I admit he is still rather muted.

Sato was a breath of fresh air overtaking Alonso for 6th.

Heidfeld was great too. Well done to Wurz for 3rd.

Much needed good result for Kova. Happy for him!

First entertaining race of the year even if it was artificial.

I almost died from nerves when Kubica crashed

Thats right your Polish. This would have been big news in Poland. Im glad he is alright. He may even race this weekend!!